The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 50
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In addition, death row prisoners constantly face unimaginable anxiety over their own imminent death. Additional circumstances, including lack of notice as to the date of the execution, public executions and mistakes in administering the execution increase the mental trauma of persons sentenced to death. Numerous scholars have documented the severe mental trauma associated with death sentences. The anxiety and foreknowledge of death affect the mental integrity of a person sentenced to death and can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
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Non-negotiated soft law
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Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment